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Contact:
PO Box 40124
Olympia, WA 98504-0124
E-mail
The Social and Health Services Olympia Division is comprised of 42 attorneys and 29 professional staff. The primary client agency of the division is the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS). DSHS administers a variety of federally and state-funded programs to protect the general public and assist those who are unable to provide for themselves. Programs include income and medical assistance, children’s services, child support, mental health services, developmental disabilities, juvenile rehabilitation, alcohol and drug rehabilitation, vocational rehabilitation, nursing home regulation, adult protective services, home and community care services, and other related community social service program activities. Legal services provided to these programs include client advice as well as representation of the programs in legal challenges. In addition to representing DSHS, the Social and Health Services Olympia Division also provides legal support to three other small state agencies: the Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Services for the Blind and Department of Early Learning. Back to top
Major DSHS Program Areas Children’s Services: The division provides headquarters legal support to the DSHS Children’s Administration, including legal advice to administrators and managers and representation in major legal challenges. The division also provides representation in child abuse and neglect cases in Thurston, Lewis and Mason counties.
Economic Services: The Economic Services Administration (ESA) administers public assistance programs, including Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), food stamps, general assistance, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), telephone assistance, and refugee assistance. The division handles litigation ranging from individual appeals of reductions to or denials of benefits to class action lawsuits challenging program implementation. Other significant issues include the development of agreements with Indian tribes for the delivery of TANF and WorkFirst services on the reservations, confidentiality of client records, electronic application for and delivery of public assistance benefits, and ongoing advice on legislation and administrative regulations on both the state and federal levels. ESA also administers the child support program, though county prosecutors generally handle litigation relating to individual child support orders.
Medical Assistance: The Health and Recovery Services Administration (HRSA) is responsible for administering federal and state programs that provide medical services to low-income individuals. Legal services related to medical assistance programs include client advice and representation before federal and state tribunals on issues concerning compliance with the federal Medicaid laws, payment rates paid to hospitals and other medical providers, scope of medical services provided, contract disputes with medical providers (including contractual agreements with managed care plans), and Medicaid eligibility issues.
Aging Services: The DSHS Aging and Disability Services Administration administers programs that provide services to elderly and vulnerable adults in the state, including residential care services (nursing homes, adult family homes, boarding homes, and the resident protection program); home and community long-term care services (Medicaid Personal Care, COPES, Chore, and Adult Protective Services); developmental disability services (as further described below); and management services. Attorneys provide legal advice on the interpretation of state and federal Medicaid laws that govern DSHS programs and represent the agency in litigation, including provider appeals of licensing actions, challenges to reimbursement rates paid to providers, and challenges to the availability and scope of services provided to recipients.
Developmental Disabilities: DSHS operates five residential habilitation centers for the developmentally disabled and contracts with counties and private providers for home and community-based residential and day programs. The SHS Olympia Division provides advice on such issues as eligibility for services, federal reimbursement, program certification, contracts, civil rights and right to treatment issues, public disclosure, and adoption of administrative rules and policies. Litigation issues include eligibility and access to services, access to clients and client records by the Washington Protection and Advocacy System, standards of care in institutions and state mental hospitals, right to community placement under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and medical decision making.
Mental Health: The Mental Health Division operates the two state mental hospitals and the Child Study and Treatment Center. It also contracts with Regional Support Networks to provide Medicaid and state-funded community mental health services. The division provides legal advice to the state hospitals on issues ranging from patient health care and confidentiality to contracts for educational services for minor patients at the children’s facility to questions concerning the forensic services unit. It provides advice to the Mental Health Division on such issues as Medicaid and Medicare financing, licensing and contracts with the Regional Support Networks. This division also represents the hospitals in all civil commitment hearings and jury trials, as well as in civil rights litigation concerning patients’ rights to various types of treatment and services. Attorneys also represent the Mental Health Division in litigation concerning disbursement of Medicaid funds and reimbursement of community mental health providers.
Special Commitment Center: The Special Commitment Center (SCC) houses the DSHS program for the involuntary treatment of sexually violent predators. Litigation has involved complex civil rights challenges by program residents against all aspects of the program, and challenges by communities objecting to the potential siting of a secure community transition facility for residents determined by a court to be ready for placement in a less restrictive alternative to the McNeil Island SCC facility. The office also defends individual SCC and DSHS employees in civil rights or torts actions brought in federal court by residents of the SCC.
Juvenile Rehabilitation: The Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration (JRA) provides for the care, custody, rehabilitation, and community supervision of court-committed juvenile offenders. JRA operates six institutions, one basic training camp and seven state-operated group homes. It also contracts out for additional community residential placements. The division provides legal advice to JRA on a variety of issues, including terms and conditions of confinement, right to treatment, conditions of parole, public disclosure, and community protection requirements.
Office of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services: This office provides telecommunications access to individuals who are hearing or speech impaired. It provides telecommunications equipment to eligible persons and contracts out for a telecommunications relay service that provides telephone access to the hearing impaired. This division advises on issues such as eligibility, contract formulation and administration and interpretation of statutes and regulations.
Office of Financial Recovery: The Office of Financial Recovery (OFR) is responsible for collecting money that is owed to various DSHS programs such as the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program, Medical Assistance Long-term Care Services, Western and Eastern State Hospitals, and Working Child Care Connections. The division advises and represents OFR on judicial review of administrative decisions, enforcement of creditor’s claims in and out of probate, termination of special needs trusts, other types of enforcement actions, and foreclosures.
Other Client Agencies Department of Veterans Affairs: The Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) provides residential, financial and advocacy services to qualified veterans who are state residents and to veterans’ families and survivors. The division advises DVA on a number of matters including eligibility for services, rights of veterans, veterans’ home policies and regulations, nature and scope of DVA’s fiduciary authority, and federal Medicaid requirements for nursing facilities.
Department of Services for the Blind: The Department of Services for the Blind provides a range of services to visually impaired individuals to assist them in establishing or maintaining their productivity, employability and independence. The division provides advice on such issues as eligibility for services, interpretation of applicable statutes and regulations and various other matters.
Department of Early Learning: The Department of Early Learning was created in 2006 to implement early learning policy, coordinate and integrate child-care and early learning programs and collaborate with the K-12 school system to improve transitions from pre-kindergarten to kindergarten. The division advises on issues such as licensing, background checks, administrative search and seizures, contracting, and interpretation of statutes and regulations.
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Health Care for Infants. Under the U.S. Constitution, children born in the United States are citizens of the United States, regardless of the immigration status of their parents. Under the Medicaid program, which is administered by the state Department of Social and Health Services but jointly funded by the state and federal governments, eligibility is generally limited to persons who (1) have income and assets below specified limits and (2) are either citizens of the United States or have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence for at least five years. Under the law, persons who do not meet the citizenship or lawful residence test may still be eligible for certain emergency services, which include labor and delivery of babies. The babies are then automatically considered to be eligible for Medicaid beginning at birth and for one year thereafter in certain circumstances. This allows newborns to have access to important primary medical care beginning at birth, rather than having to wait until a new Medicaid application is submitted on their behalf and approved. The State sued the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, challenging a new federal rule that would make it tougher to get medical coverage for such infants, thus violating the infants’ constitutional rights. Two weeks after the lawsuit was filed, the federal government announced it would withdraw the new policy. After the final federal rule was issued withdrawing the challenged policy, the lawsuit was voluntarily dismissed. Back to top
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